A/N: Hello! I don't have much to say, except thank you to anyone who reviewed. Carpophobic, i know, that's exactly what i was thinking! i'm gonna think they're all demigods!
Anon, actually, Batty's parent is the only one i'm having trouble with. I don't want it to be Apollo (i know it would make sense, cause of her music) just because, so i"m trying to come up with a different one.
Which is why i'm asking all my readers this! Please, if you read my story, review which godly parent you think each of the girls should have. Like i said, i'm having trouble with Batty, and i'm curious about your opinions of the others.
Disclaimer: I don't think I'm Rick Riordan, so no, i don't own Percy Jackson. And i've checked, and i'm not a middle aged woman who loves dogs, so no, I'm not Jeanne Birdsall either. Ergo, i don't own Penderwicks.
Batty sat strapped into her seat in the Penderwick minivan. Ben slept in his seat beside her, and Hound lay on the ground, chewing a stuffed yellow duck Ben had dropped. The skyscrapers of Manhattan were still barely visible, even though they had passed it ages ago.
"How long till we get there?" Batty asked. She was tired of sitting for so long. Their last rest-stop had been a few hours ago, and she was desperately hungry.
Iantha turned around in her seat to look at her. "Just a few more minutes sweetie."
"Do you want to play a game, Batty?" Rosalind asked from behind. She, Jane and Skye all sat in a row. Before Iantha and Ben, she had sat beside her father, and they had only needed a regular car. Batty didn't like not being able to see her.
"Yes," she replied, twisting in her seat.
"Noo," Skye moaned. Over the course of the trip, they had played Twenty Questions, I Spy, and the License Plate Game, all multiple times, and it was clear she was sick of it.
"Please Skye," Batty begged, even though she knew it was useless. She could never convince Skye of anything. As predicted, she shook her head.
"We're almost there anyways," Mr. Penderwick said. Camp half-Blood was expecting them, because Nico and Jeffery had arrived early, on winged horses called Pegasi (apparently how they had come from Boston-not on a bus). The prospect of winged horses excited her. She loved horses. And she'd always wanted wings- real ones, not fake like her old butterfly wings- so she couldn't wait to see them. And knowing they'd be there made her want to get to Camp Half-Blood as soon as possible.
But, despite the fact that there would be winged horses, Batty wasn't sure about going to Camp Half-Blood. She had never been this far from home, let alone without an adult. It was scary, thinking about not having Daddy or Iantha there to check under her bed for monsters. That was another thing. She didn't even know where she'd be sleeping. Strange, unfamiliar beds always scared her. And Daddy had explained. Rosalind might not even be in her cabin. Skye and Jane might not be either. Or Jeffery. It was possible that she, Batty, would be sleeping in a cabin full to the brim with complete strangers. Not a single familiar face. Now that was the scariest of all. And even if one of her sisters was in her cabin, during the day she'd still have to talk to strangers. Tons of them. And she hated strangers.
The thought of all these scary things brought tears to her eyes. She knew she shouldn't cry. Skye said crying was for babies. And yet, Skye had cried a few nights ago. So had Rosalind. And thinking about that made her think about Daddy's 'explaination', and thinking about that made her think of the monster from a few days ago, which made her think about Camp Half-Blood, and how she had to go there, and leave Ben and Daddy and Iantha and Hound all behind. The tears slid down her cheeks. And even though she tried to keep the whimpering to a minimum, there was a bit of snuffling.
Rosalind heard. "Oh, Batty, don't cry. We'll play a game if you really want to." Batty shook her head.
"I-d-don't w-wa-want to go to Camp," she sobbed.
"Honey, it's okay. None of us do." Rosalind passed her some tissues.
"Th-the-then wh-wh-why are we g-g-going?" Rosalind fell silent.
'Because sweetie," Iantha said, turning around. "It's the safest way. And don't worry, you'll be home soon enough. now, dry your tears." Batty swiped the tissues across her face, and tried to think of good things. Hound and Funty, her stuffed elephant. Eleanor and Franklin, the horses that lived not too far from her house. Minuet in G Major. The tears were stopping now. Yaz and Carla, the bunnies at Jeffery's house. her breathing was slowing down. And, those winged horses. She smiled tentatively, to see if said smile would be wiped off her face by a new flood of tears. But no, her cheeks remained dry.
"There we go,"Iantha said soothingly.
Batty looked out her window. Trees and strawberry fields were rushing by. New York City was no longer visible, and grassy country hills stretched on and on. Batty saw wild flowers on one of them, and thought about how wonderful it would be to pick some. Jeffery said there were many flowers at Camp Half-Blood.
"Daddy," Jane called from the back.
"Yes Jane?"
"Do demigods train with real monsters at Camp Half-Blood?" The possiblility of monsters made tears prick Batty's eyes once again. But she fought them back, to hear Daddy's answer.
"Not usually Jane, no. Sometimes, but not ususally. And if they do, they always have them under control." Batty sighed with relief. At least she could cross 'monsters' off her long list of Things To Worry About.
"Does it have all the Greek architecture and stuff?" Skye asked. The answer to this question didn't particularly interest Batty, seeing as she was neither afraid of nor facinated by architecture, but she pretended to look deeply intrigued, because it made her seem more mature, something Skye was always saying she needed to be.
"Why don't you see for yourself," Mr. Penderwick said, stopping the car. "We're here."
Just a filller. I had to get more of Batty in. REVIEW!